After the first three weeks of Super 14 rugby, we are starting to get a feel for who has what it takes to make the finals and who will be stuck at the bottom of the table come May. And there are a few surprise positions on the ladder. Here is a look at how the Australian teams are traveling:

The Australian teams are going well as a whole with three teams in the top four and none in the bottom five. The Waratahs are showing again why they are title contenders (as they have been the last few years with without going all they way), but are being accused as being boring by almost everyone from the public to the media to rival teams. They did start to show a bit more flair in their win over the Highlanders, and entertaining or not, they are winning and sit second on the ladder. They are a very well-drilled, well-structured side and should head towards the tournament’s final weeks without dropping too many games.

The Force are surprisingly fourth on the ladder after their win over the Brumbies on the weekend. With the announcement of star playmaker Matt Giteau moving back the Brumbies next year adding to the reports of infighting and tension over in Perth since this year’s pre-season, the Force were considered outsiders to win in Canberra, but with a fantastic turn by fullback Cameron Shepherd, who scored 3 tries, they achieved a great win in the face of diversity. If the players can ignore all the outside distraction, they possibly could do very well this season, but a middle-of-the-table finish is the likely outcome.

The Brumbies are solid at the moment with 2 wins and 1 loss, but will be shocked their loss the the Force at home, a game they thought was very much in their favour up until the whistle blew to start the match. The Brumbies are usually a solid bet to make the top 4 of Super Rugby, or at least stay in the top half of the ladder, but whether they can repeat that this year will rely heavily on whether their young flyhalf Christian Lealiifano, who is in the shoes that were filled by Wallaby great Stephen Larkham for so many years.

Finally the Reds will be looking to throw off the shackles of the bottom end of the table where they have been for the past few years. With a backline that finally looks like they could do some damage, the Reds will have to start making a move up the table very soon if they want to show they are finals contenders. The big grudge match against their southern neighbours the Waratahs this friday could be the litmus test for how their season ends up

With only one week to go before the release of Watchmen in cinemas across the globe it is definitely time to get excited, very excited.

By all accounts from those who have seen the early previews, the film lives up to expectations. With it being possibly being the most anticipated film adaptation of a comic ever, especially amongst hardcore fanboys, the anticipation of whether it will live up to the legendary graphic novel of industry-god Alan Moore has been felt by fans and the film’s creators alike. At this point, things are looking good. Just by reading any interview with Zack Snyder (director of 300 and the 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead), you certainly get the feeling that he is a true fan of the source material and that this film is a labour of love.

For more tangible evidence that the film is in good hands, just check out the all promotional stuff that is available online. The official website http://watchmenmovie.warnerbros.com/ is full of posters, videos and other cool shit that makes you wish you were watching the movie right now damn it! Make sure to visit the site of The New Frontiersmen, based on the fictional right-wing newspaper from Moore’s novel, as it is full of really interesting viral-style articles and other media based on the world of Watchmen.

Who will be watching the Watchmen next week? Well I am for sure, and I guess a whole lot of other people will be too. Will you?

The next film in The Terminator franchise could either be very good or very bad. Considering what most fourth installments of a film series usually are, history is not with Terminator Salvation. Adding to any fan of the original two Terminator film’s scepticism is that the director, McG’s (yes, apparently that is his credited name), most famous films to date are the two Charlie’s Angels films. Not exactly the director who would first pop into your mind when thinking about the legendary Terminator films.

However, there are some good things going for Terminator Salvation. The first and by very much foremost is the casting of Christian Bale as John Connor. Bale is with out a doubt one of the best actors working today, and his mere presence gives this film a whole lot of credibility. Add to that the information coming from the production camp. They are looking at this film as a kind of “rebooting” of the series. Now the term “reboot” is thrown around a little too much these days, ever since Christopher Nolan’s “reboot” of the Batman series (also starring Christian Bale), but in this case seems like a valid vision. With the film now focussing on the actual war between mankind and the Skynet robots, there is also an opportunity to take the franchise in a new direction, one that could continue for a few more films. Also, McG, has apparently conferred with Mr. Terminator himself, director James Cameron, as to the direction where the next film should head.

Anyway, the new trailer for Terminator Salvation is out, and it actually looks pretty damn cool. It certainly looks like a lot of action will be involved and add to that the acting chops present, and this fourth film just might make up for the travesty that was Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. Sure it doesn’t have Arnie, but it just might be worth a look.

Well it has been 6 long and boring months since the finale of Season 4 of Lost aired and there is still a little bit more waiting to do. The good news is that a countdown to the next season is now worth commencing. In exactly 7 weeks from today, Lost Season 5 will premiere in the U.S.

The end of Season 4 was quite a cliffhanger, with some of the castaways escaping the island, the island itself “disappearing” and a major revelation concerning John Locke in the flash-forwards. With only two seasons left to go, presumably we will start to get some answers to the multitudes of questions that have arisen during the show. Questions such as: What exactly is the island? Who exactly are “the others”? Why doesn’t Richard age? What is the “monster”? Why did Charlie have to die? Why is Walt special, and why did the others let him leave? Why is Jack really such a pompous arsehole? What is the Dharma Initiative and the Hanso Foundation? Is there anyone more awesome than Locke?, but mostly, What the hell is the show about? Okay so that is a lot of questions, and hopefully we will start getting some answers.

To whet your appetite check out the Season 5 trailer the official Lost website.

Also it seems ABC will be releasing a series of sneak previews for the first episode, with the first one also available at the Lost website. It seems someone knows the truth about Kate and baby Aaron’s “relationship”, and wants to reveal it. My bet is on Charles Widmore, but hey I wouldn’t put it past Ben Linus as part of his sneaky scheming.

Stephen King is one of the most popular and prolific writers working today. While not without detractors, he remains a leading figure in fiction writing, especially within the horror genre. Novels like The Stand, Cujo, Salem’s Lot and Carrie are widely known throughout the world, and his epic fantasy series, The Dark Tower, has a massive following. Furthermore, many of his novels have been turned into films, and comic book adaptations of The Stand and The Dark Tower are currently in production. Commercially he is one of the most successful novelists alive today.

With all of these accolades, King is undoubtedly in a prime position to have something to say on the craft of writing. And it is with his book, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, that he has decided to pass on some of his thoughts on what makes a writer, or more specifically, what makes a good writer.

The tack he has taken with this book is an inspired one. Writing is very different to economics or maths; it is not an exact science. And On Writing is certainly no textbook. One of the main points made by King is that writing is a craft, and in that craft the writer shapes the story. So each and every story is ultimately dependant on the personal life experience of their creator, the writer. To get this point across in practical terms, King dedicates a big portion at the beginning of the book to a kind of biographical history of his own life, which he aptly entitles “CV”.

With a cheeky comedic touch, King tells the tale of his life with brutal but admiral honesty in a way that is genuinely interesting as well as entertaining. From his humble childhood in a lower-middle class, single-parent family to his early adulthood trying to support a family with two kids living in a trailer park, King paints a vivid picture of the many ups and downs of his life. What the reader ends up with, is an understanding of these struggles and joys in King’s life, which shaped what kind of writer he is, and thus the stories themselves.

But the book is not all biographical story-time; King is full of practical advice as well. Instead of trying to bombard the reader with boring rules and stiff diagrams, the bulk of the book is filled with real and solid advice as to what does and does not work in the journey to write a story. With examples from his own work, as well as from other authors, King illustrates many of the do’s and don’ts of writing, all in clear language. He adopts the tone of a helpful uncle giving advice, rather than a lecturer standing at the front of a classroom, and so his teaching is very accessible.

King stresses the point that writing is above all a very personal undertaking, and that any attempt to try and teach the craft in conventional ways is useless. This is why he has written On Writing as more of a rough guide to how he became a good writer, not how you can become one. Without too many rules but filled with helpful advice, On Writing has come out as an insightful and above all useful book on the craft of writing.

Old School, is a fan-favourite film for a whole generation. Filled with endless comic quotability, anyone who has seen and loved the film will be able to spill forth the favourite line from Frank the Tank and company. Almost every line said in the film makes me laugh in one way or another, but I have to be ruthless and choose one. So for this week’s THE WORD I have chosen something from Frank the Tank, which is in my opinion Will Ferrell’s best role to date. It is said at the first party thrown at Mitch’s new house, The Mitch Martin Freedom Festival. Frank has promised his new wife not to drink and is trying to explain to some college guys why he can not do a beer-bong with them as he has plans with his wife for the next day:

Frank: I told my wife I wouldn’t drink tonight. Besides, I got a big day tomorrow. You guys have a great time.